Dishes in the Philippines are quite simple to prepare and would require less cooking utensils. A Chinese wok should do the trick when cooking food in the Philippines. We'll discuss some of the basics of cooking in the Philippines. We'll also discuss the cooking styles in the Philippines, as well as the common ingredients used.
In the Philippines, when you are cooking food, you don't need any special styles or skills. Most dishes in the Philippines are stewed, sauteed, broiled, braised, or fried. You will rarely find baked dishes in Philippine cooking. That is typical for a tropical cuisine.
There are two major cooking styles of preparing and cooking food in the Philippines. The first cooking style has vinegar as a major theme. You'll find that popular dishes in the Philippines like adobo, paksiw, and sinigang are based on the sour taste. Dishes like these are not necessarily based on the sour taste alone but more on the preserving effects of vinegar.
This first major cooking style in the Philippines focuses more on preserving the food. Dishes prepared in this cooking style are meant to last longer even without refrigeration. The food created in this cooking style seems to taste better after some time.
The second major cooking style in the Philippines has Patis as its major theme. Patis is the Philippine equivalent of the Vietnamese "Nuoc mam" or the Thai "nampla". It is a very salty, thin, fish or shrimp sauce.
This cooking style focuses on accentuating the taste of the food using Patis. Though Patis is kind of rare and sometimes is really hard to find, it still remains a major theme among many dishes in the Philippines. Where patis is not found, salt is used as a substitute in this cooking style.
The ingredients used in Philippine cooking have either an Oriental (more Chinese by the way) or Hispanic influence. Let's take a look at the common ingredients used in Philippine cooking.
Coconut milk is common in Philippine cooking, quite popular in the Bicol region. Anatto seeds (known in the Philippines as "achuette") can be bought in the Philippines at the local wet market or in groceries in four or eight ounce bottles. This can be bought in oriental stores in the US.
Bagoong (fermented shrimp or fish paste) is quite popular in the northern and southern regions of the Philippines. This can also be bought in any oriental food store.
The Chinese influence in Philippine cooking comes in through several ingredients such as dried Chinese mushrooms, Chinese sausages, bak choy, and an array of different kinds of noodles. All these can be bought at local food markets or in oriental stores in the East and West coasts of the United States.
Cooking the dishes of the Philippines is quite easy to begin with. The ingredients are readily available and if not, substitute ingredients can still be used. The cooking styles in the Philippines were developed with practicality in mind. Try them out and enjoy a taste that is uniquely Filipino.
[Tags]Filipino Cuisine, Food, Philippines, Pinoy food, Philippine dishes, Cooking[Tags]
The story of Max's Fried Chicken restaurant can be traced to a dream. One night, Maximo Gimenez had a dream. In the dream he was chasing a white chicken. Little did he know that chickens would be a tradition and a business he would later pass down to his children and grandchildren. Eventually he and his family would establish what is known today as Max's Fried Chicken dubbed as "the house that fried chicken built”.
After World War II the Philippines was back to American control once again. Maximo Gimenez was a teacher who studied at Stanford. At this time, the Gimenez family, like most Filipino families in the post-war era of the Philippines, was under financial difficulty.
Here's how Max's Fried Chicken restaurant started. Maximo, known to friends as Max, made friends with the American occupation troops. The American servicemen in Quezon City would regularly visit Max's home for a drink. Soon after, the soldiers insisted to pay for the drinks they got from Max's home that prompted the man to open a cafe to serve food and drinks.
This was the humble beginning of Max's Fried Chicken restaurant. Since the cafe opened up, the Gimenez family was united by the desire for service and inspired by the opportunity to earn a living to alleviate themselves from their financial crisis.
Max's Fried Chicken started out as a little cafe, which was also the Gimenez family home. Tables and chairs were arranged and other furnishings necessary to add to the ambience.
The Max's Fried Chicken specialty (the fried chicken of course), emerged from a request of one of the American servicemen to fry a whole chicken. Ruby, Max's niece managed the kitchen and created the special recipe that made the Max's Fried Chicken an instant hit.
No sooner did the Filipinos also catch on to the Max's Fried Chicken craze. It began as news of tender, juicy, and crispy chicken was served at the Gimenez family home cafe. From here the Max's Fried Chicken restaurant was born.
The family encountered a bit of trouble when the American forces left the Philippines and returned to the United States. Through a united effort and good service, the Gimenez family was able to keep Max's Fried Chicken alive.
Max's Fried Chicken restaurant became a place where fond memories are made. Today, Max's Fried Chicken can be found all over Metro Manila, in the Northern Luzon Island of the Philippines, Cebu, and in California, USA.
Max's Fried Chicken has well established itself as a household name in the Philippines. It can be said that Max's Fried Chicken is a product of family unity, warm-hearted service, and good food.
[Tags]Max, Chicken, Manok, Philippines, Fried Chicken[/Tags]
Imagine tasting the wonderful flavor of coconut milk, vegetables, and seafood in every bite, wouldn't that be heaven boiling in your tongue? Add to it a spicy taste that would accentuate the rest of the flavors in your mouth (that is if it doesn't send you running for water). That is Pinangat, a wonderful delicacy in the Bicol Region of the Philippines.
If you ever wonder which of the many people in the Philippines would eat spicy chili peppers for snacks, then all you ever have to do is visit the Bicol Region.
The locals are called bicolanos, and are known to be a people who have a rooted fear of spicy chili peppers out of their chests. One spicy specialty bicolanos are known for is their ever-famous Pinangat.
Pinangat is part of Philippine cuisine that espouses coconut milk as a major theme. It is reminiscent of other dishes from the neighboring pacific islands. Since the Bicol Region in the Philippines is a large producer of coconuts, a major theme among the local cuisine is based on coconut milk (locally known as gata).
Pinangat is made from local "gabi" leaves (i.e. taro). Every neighborhood in the Bicol Region will have these planted nearby. These leaves will either be sun dried or cooked fresh to become a major ingredient in almost every bicolano delicacy including Pinangat.
Other than gabi leaves, coconut milk, and chili peppers, the succulent flavor of Pinangat won't be complete without the tasty seafood that makes this delicacy a huge hit in the local cuisine of the Philippines.
You can use crabmeat, fish meat, or shrimp meat to make Pinangat. At times, when you get to visit the Bicol Region in the Philippines, you might even be treated by the local folks to Pinangat with shark meat (expect killing sharks to be illegal in the Philippines though).
Pinangat is simply made by wrapping your favorite seafood meat, chili peppers, onions, garlic, and spices in gabi leaves. This is sometimes tied up using gabi leaves that are cut lengthwise into strings, but it's totally up to you if you want to do it that way.
The vegetable wrap (Pinangat) is then set aside while the coconut milk is set to a boil. Once the coconut milk is brought to a boil the vegetable wraps are dropped in. You let the whole thing boil over adding salt to taste until the vegetable wrap has absorbed most of the coconut milk.
And that's how to make the Bicol Region's famous Pinangat. Just prepare yourself for a tasty meal that sends you begging for water.
Now here’s a Philippine Shell stew that will keep the taste buds stirred up. This native cuisine “Tahong” Stew is guaranteed to rouse appetite and the pangs of hunger in a ravenous mood.
Shellfish “tahong” is an affordable native sea food recipe available in all wet markets especially in summer. Buy only from reputable dealers for an edible and fresh variety. It is often sold per 2 or 3 liter-container can at a very reasonable price. For a can of “tahong” this is the list of ingredients of this native cuisine: two small bundles of sliced onion leaves, two small bundles of sliced “kinchay” leaves, a small bundle “malungay” leaves (cleared of small branches), a small bundle native chili “labuyo” leaves (cleared of small branches), a half fist of peeled and sliced ginger, 5 pieces minced garlic, 4 pieces peeled and sliced onion tubers, 3 cups water, 3 tablespoon cooking oil, and salt to taste. With these ingredients in hand, we’re ready to cook this native recipe.
Thoroughly wash the shell, about 3 times, with clean water. Pull out any wool sticking out from the shell, but be careful not to pull out the mussel. Crush small craters, if any, sticking to the shell. Wash one last round with clean water. Sauté garlic, ginger, and onion tubers in cooking oil until brown. Pour clean water and cover with lid. Boil this native cuisine.
When boiling, pour in shell and boil until mussels in the shell turn plump red. This often takes 1 to 2 minutes. Put in the rest of the ingredients and boil again for 1 to 2 minutes. This native recipe serves 5 to 6 people.
A variation of this native cuisine is to sauté the garlic, onion, and ginger till brown and then sauté the shell with them. After half a minute, with a little fish sauce (“patis”), pour a whole bottle of white, non cola softdrink or soda into the native recipe. After a minute, pour in the rest of the ingredients. This makes for a sweet, spicy, and pungent native seafood recipe, stew and mussel, that pleasantly tingles in the mouth.
This native recipe is best partnered with fried or grilled pork chops or fish, or beef. A matching native long chili crushed in a sauce of fish sauce (“patis”) adds to the delight.
This shellfish stew is a native cuisine that is fully spiced up and packed with leafy veggies to come up with a peculiar pungent flavor that makes mouths sampling for more.
“Paksiw” is a Filipino culinary term for any Philippine cuisine cooked in considerable amount of vinegar, giving it a subtle sour taste that tickles the taste buds for more servings. How about trying the favorite trout paksiw or “paksiw na tilapia”?
Trout paksiw has a choice of big, plump trout or small, younger ones. Big trout has more a bulging tummy. The more bulged their tummies are the richer their fatty, soft tissue. Small, younger trout on the other hand is tastier and has very tender flesh. Mixed in a boiling vinegar concoction, trout becomes a delicious Philippine cuisine.
Trout or tilapia paksiw can be cooked with vegetables. Three pieces of sliced eggplant, a piece of sliced “ampalaya” or bitter melon, 5 pieces of sliced okra, and two pieces of long native chili will make for a very healthy and appetizing milkfish paksiw variation. With a kilo of choice, plump and big trouts sliced into 3 pieces plus a half cup vinegar (better if the native Ilocano vinegar), half cup of water, a fourth of a whole piece of ginger (peeled and sliced small), 5 pieces garlic (crushed and sliced), and two spoons powdered pepper, we’re ready to cook this Philippine cuisine.
Place everything in a pot. Don’t stir or arrange or move anything once they’re all in a pot. Cover tightly and set fire to boil. When the concoction is boiling, bring to a simmer for 3 minutes and cut the fire. Serve hot. This is perfect when dipped in a sauce of fish sauce (“patis”) and chopped native long chili from the cooked Philippine cuisine.
For another variation of Philippine cuisine trout paksiw or paksiw na tilapia; put a little sugar in the stew after putting everything in the pot. This makes for a pungent sweet-sour trout paksiw stew, beautifully affecting the fish and vegetables in a delicate blend.
And here’s a secret recipe for further enhancing the flavor of trout. After having it soaked and boiled in the paksiw concoction for a marinated effect, take out the trouts, dry awhile, and fry in hot oil along with some pieces of crushed garlic. Serve separately from the paksiw vegetable stew. This style gives a barbecue-flavored variation to the Philippine cuisine trout paksiw.
Trout paksiw (or paksiw na tilapia) is a healthy, balanced meal that keeps one deciding the subtle sourness from the tasty blend of sweet vegetable saps. It’s variations are even more intriguing.
The saucy Adobo native recipe is popular, but few have savored the rich, crunchy, barbecue taste of dry pork-chicken Adobo. This native cuisine is really a tasty lunch treat. Crunchy outside yet tender inside. The pork almost melts in the mouth.
Adobo has been the favorite native cuisine of locals and tourists for all time. It comes in different types, like vegetable (of “kangkong” or “talong” or “Pako”), chicken flesh, chicken liver, pork, or pork-chicken mix.
Adobo is Tagalog, so we might as well cook this native recipe the Tagalog way. All pork-chicken Adobo are cooked the same way except when cooked dry. That’s where some cooking techniques depart from the usual.
For a half pound of chicken and another of pork, prepare 10 pieces crushed garlic, one cup water, half cup vinegar, half cup soy sauce, 5 Laurel leaves (optional), and one and a half spoon ground pepper. Put everything in a pot. NEVER stir this native recipe. Cook in low fire.
Check taste and add soy or vinegar accordingly. If concoction is too sour, add in a little brown sugar to taste. Let the boiling stir everything in this native recipe. Liquid content may decrease but that’s okay. We’re supposed to dry up this native cuisine.
When the meat is tender enough bring cooking to a simmer. Prepare 3 pieces crashed garlic. Put half cup oil in a frying pan on high fire. When hot enough, throw in the garlic pieces. When garlic pieces get brownish, put in the pork and chicken pieces one by one.
Add new batch of laurel leaves and ground pepper. Decrease heat to low fire. Stir periodically (it’s all right to stir now) until meat is crunchy.
Place cooked meat on banana leaf-covered plates. The liquid concoction used for tenderizing the meat can serve as a tasty soup to go with the steaming-hot rice. This native dish is best served with green mangos, tomatoes, onions, and celery all chopped up to tiny bits and mixed with a thin spread of native preserved fish or “bagoong.” One can use salt, though, instead of bagoong, in this native recipe.
One interesting note: Adobo seems to exude more appetizing flavors when eaten with hands on banana leaves outdoors. Or try this native dish during lunch by the front porch or terrace on a nice weekend, sunny or rainy. Lots swear that a rainy day adds to the specialty of it all.
Crunchy roll stuffed with spiced vegetable bits and other meaty ingredients. This is a special Philippine native cuisine, fried vegetable roll, or “Lumpia,” which is good as a native dish for dinner or an afternoon snack, or”merienda.”
To cook this native cuisine, we need the following ingredients: ordinary 15-piece “lumpia” wrapper, one pack sprouted “monggo” beans, one fourth kilo finely chopped string beans or Baguio beans or “bitswelas,” one fourth finely chopped cabbage, one fourth kilo beef, three bundles chopped “kinchay” leaves, four pieces chopped onions, 5 pieces mined garlic pieces, 5 pieces diced tofu, one fourth peeled and sliced shrimp, half cup of water, and lots of no-cholesterol cooking oil. With these ingredients, we’re ready to cook this native dish.
The first thing to do to cook this native cuisine is to sauté garlic and onions in about 4 to 5 tablespoons of cooking oil till light brown. Then add in the beef and shrimp, also till light brown. Then put in all the vegetables and diced tofu and stir cook on medium fire. After cooking, put everything in a clean container. We’re done with part one of this native dish.
Now, we prepare the roll wrappers of “lumpia” wrappers of this native cuisine. Careful separate the wrapper pieces from each other and place them on a clean, dry plate. Cut them in half. Get a half-piece of roll wrapper, spread it on another dry, clean plate. Take two spoons of the vegetables and place on the roll wrapper (at the edge where it was cut). Carefully cover it by rolling the wrapper over the concoction until it reaches the round tip end. Wet the tip end with water from the half cup. This sticking effect will seal the wrapped roll. Place the completed roll on a separate plate. Do the same with the rest. Thirty vegetable rolls---this completes the preparation of this native dish.
Now we go to the third part of cooking this native cuisine: deep frying. Get a deep pan where enough cooking oil can be poured. Make sure the rolls can be soaked in them. Heat the oil on high fire. Cut the rolls in half before deep-frying them in the pan till brown. A perfect dip for this native dish is a sauce of vinegar with minced garlic, powder pepper and a pinch of salt.
Philippine native cuisine, deep-fried vegetable rolls, is a special and healthy native dish variation with veggies and meats.
Many Philippine native recipes and native cuisines are either enhanced with natural beef flavor or made primarily of beef. In cooking any beef or beefy recipe (casseroles, steaks, stews, grills barbecues) it’s also important to know what beef part should be bought.
The rib. Beef rib section is just at the back of a cow’s shoulders. It is almost in the mid section of a cow’s body. Beef ribs are extra delicious, very tender, and brings out the full savor of beef. They are best for beef native recipes that include boiling, grilling, roasting, and barbecuing. The stew of boiled beef ribs is perfect for all stewed beef native cuisines. Usually, in Philippine wet markets, beef ribs easily run out of stock. So the best option in buying them is go very early in the morning or have an order reserved in the evening for tomorrow.
Beef sirloin. Beef sirloins come from the lower mid section of a cow’s body. It has parts of the backbone and some portions of the hip bone. This beef part is also very tender, savory, and contains less fat. Native recipes for grilling, boiling, and frying are best with beef sirloins. Native cuisines like Beef Michado, SInigang Beef, Boiled or Beef Nilaga, and Beef Caldereta go well with sirloins. This beef part is also perfect for fried Beef Tapa and native cuisine Bistek.
Beef round cuts. This beef part is found in the leg part of the cow, with the shank and also part of the tailbone. Beef round cuts from the rear legs are more tender than those from the front legs. This beef part also has less fat and best for boiled native recipes. Native cuisines like Beef Nilaga and Beef Morcon are best cook with this main ingredient.
Beef brisket and Shank. This beef portion is found between the neck and front legs of the cow. Included with this part is the breast. Briskets are often tough and fatty. They are excellent for prolonged and slow cooking of stewed native recipes like Kare-Kare, Beef Nilaga, Beef Sinigang, and Beef Picadiso. Shanks, in contrast, are a bit more tender choice cuts and also best for shorter-time boiling of stewed native cuisines like some other Beef Nilaga versions and Beef Pochero.
Cooking native recipes for beefs also involves a basic knowledge of beef choice parts. Often, a particular beef cut goes more excellently with a particular native cuisine than other beef portions.
Modern Filipino recipes are delectable dishes that are at par with the world’s best. But modern recipes depend on both modern and native spices. Common spices in cooking modern recipes and dishes are the following:
Annatto or “atsuete” in the vernacular are dark red seeds used for natural food coloring of vegetables, meat, and fish recipes. These are tear-shaped seeds found in clusters inside one-inch diameter balls covered with curly fibers. Annatto is bland, but Philippine cooking considers it a “spice” that often goes with other spices. Recipes are enhanced by coloring. Some food colorings are synthetic and may prove harmful to health, but not annatto seeds. They’re natural. Modern Philippine red dishes are “spiced” up with them.
Butter is also a favorite, not only as a cooking oil substitute, but also to improve flavors of dishes. In this sense, butter is commonly thought of as a spice. It is wholly of milk and cream and is applied in recipes for a thick, creamy touch. Butter is used for frying, sautéing, mixing in the middle of cooking, or a melting topping on dishes.
Cheese is another modern Philippine spice. A lot of recipes use it for creamy dish textures and taste. Cheese is also used as a melting topping on various dishes like lasagna, baked spaghetti or macaroni, beef mechado and local hamburgers. Cheese is also grated and mixed as a spice in many dishes like vegetable salads, beef caldereta. Cheese is wholly of dairy products, and popular varieties are cheddar, edam, white cheese (from goats’ milk), and parmesan. Cheese melts are also used as dips to supplement other recipes.
Native chili. This is an all-time favorite in Philippine culinary arts. They are a very dependable hot spice to liven up the taste buds and appetite. They can be applied as a recipe ingredient while cooking hot and spicy dishes, and they can also serve in hot sauces and dips. Chicken “tinola” and pork “sinigang” are among the recipes that may include native chili as an ingredient.
Cornstarch is also commonly used in a lot of recipes as a spice. It achieves a thick, creamy, and subtle sauce or stew for a lot of dishes. It is also a cheaper substitute for milk and cream for the same purpose. Cornstarch is dilute in water first before mixed in recipes.
Modern Philippine recipes are rich in ingredients and spices that perk up the savory qualities of dishes. Common spices responsible for delectable dishes are often cheap recipe mixes.
Looking for a super appetizer that also serves as a super meal viand? Then try this simple but heavy and healthy local dish. It has meaty goodness with a variety of other nutritious and delicious ingredients.
For this recipe we need three fourth kilo of boneless pork head, a fourth cup of red cane vinegar, a can (439 grams) of pineapple tidbits (drained), pineapple syrup from the tidbits, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, a fourth spoon of powder pepper, 3 regular squares of fried tofu or “tokwa” (sliced into cubes), a piece of chopped onions, 4 cloves of minced garlic, and one medium size diced red bell pepper. With these ingredients all ready, we can start cooking this dish.
We begin this recipe by cleaning and boiling the pork head in three cups of water and a half tablespoon of salt. Boil for 30 minutes or until the pork and meat are very tender. After boiling, drain the water and place in a container. Slice the meat and pork into cubes measuring about 2X2 centimeters. Then soak the sliced meat and pork in vinegar for 10 minutes for a slightly sour pork and meat dish.
Mix recipe of pineapple tidbit syrup, soy sauce, salt, and pepper. Stir well. Put in tidbit pieces and other ingredients, including stew from the boiled meat and pork. This dish serves 7 persons.
The meat and pork of a pig’s head is tasty and delicately tender when boiled and soaked in vinegar. This includes the ear parts, the fleshy nape, the plump cheek flesh, and a part of the neck. When boiled the stew produces a pungent concoction perfect for this recipe. Partnered with the tofu and other ingredients, the resultant whole dish produces a sweet-sour meaty taste with everything tender to the bite.
This special dish is often a favorite finger food or “pulutan” that goes with special or local liquors. It is also a special appetizer before a major dinner meal is served, or a perfect dinner meal in itself in family or party dinner tables. This recipe of combined meat, pork, tofu, and vegetable spices is also perfect for athletes in training and who need large doses of protein, carbohydrates, and fibers.
This local recipe is easy to prepare and cook. It can be enjoyed as a party dish in outdoor picnics, elegant dinners, and as packed lunch in the office. It is one of the local flexible dishes in Philippine culinary art.